“Lost and Found is by far the best volunteer gig, so much so that I don’t want people to know about it. We pounce on available spots as soon as the system opens.

You sit in the shade and the whole burn comes to you, or at least past you, without you having to do anything. Everyone makes a silly joke and wants to chat, regardless of whether they had lost something. If someone hands in lost property, it’s your duty to go through it meticulously to determine which drugs it holds to quiz people to establish ownership. If it’s a diary, it’s read from cover to cover because it could become interesting.

Once a man lost his left shoe and we returned it to him the next day. In a crowd of 13,000 people, two ugly plastic cups had been lost which were also found. All sorts of electronic appliances – we can’t always discern its function – vibrators, whips, bongs and everything that is wonderful.

The look of surprise on people’s faces is immense when we actually have their things. Once a guy lost his set of keys for his Volvo with all his stuff locked inside. When he heard that we had his keys, he started to cry. Wonderful fulfilling job.

Now we always bring spare car keys just in case. A guy lost his keys and all his food and clothes were in the car. It was a borrowed car and he didn’t want to smash the window, so a set of keys were flown up from Johannesburg to the burn.

The shifts at the start are a bit boring because stock is limited but it gets way more interesting as the burn progresses. People also make inane jokes about Lost and Found because they think they are original. Can you help me, I lost my marbles, I lost my mind, I lost my dignity, lost all my inhibitions and I lost my virginity (I can’t help with that one). Muriel (the head-priestess of Lost and Found) has now a tin canister and every time someone tells a lame joke, she throws a pebble in the tin.”

So, people… the cat is out of the bag – have more fun at the next Burn by volunteering. Anywhere, any place for any duration of time. There are a gazillion options to suit all shapes and sizes – and you can find out all about them over on our Participate page.